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Small pumpkins are cute and all, but they tend to just sit on tables as centerpieces or on stoops as an attempt at festive decor.

So this Halloween, we decided to turn baby pumpkins into something surprising and at least slightly useful: a string of lights. I admit to having obsessed over this a little bit—Should we somehow affix them to a string of Christmas tree lights? How dangerous would it be to use real candles and flammable twine? How many mini pumpkins on a string of lights is too many?—but it all turned out for the best.

What you'll need:

How to turn your baby pumpkins into a string of lights:

Carefully slice around the stem with a paring knife, remove the pumpkin's hat, and scrape out the seeds and gunky bits with a metal tablespoon (the sharp, sturdy edges will make this go very quickly).

2) Make holes for the string.

Using an awl, punch two holes in each pumpkin, one on each side of the top opening.

3) Thread your pumpkins onto a string.

Cut a long, long piece of twine (allowing at least two feet per pumpkin) and thread it through the pumpkins: Press the end of the twine through one hole from the outside of the pumpkin, using the awl to help push it through. Then reach inside the pumpkin and grab the end of the twine, pulling it up through the opening where the stem was.

Now, wrap the string back towards the hole you started with, under the pumpkin, and through the hole on the other side (also pressing it through from the outside in), and then back out the hole where the stem was (see the path of the string in the image above, left). Allow about a foot of string between pumpkins, and then repeat until they're all strung together.

4) Light.

You can use real votives for this, which will make the lights even glowier, but electric ones are much safer and easier to handle. Turn them on, drop them in the pumpkins, and then hang them up.

5) Hang 'em up!

For some pumpkins, just one votive will be enough to make it glow, but others will need a few dropped inside. If all else fails, puch a few more holes with the awl to let some light out.